The group of young neophyte yeshiva students gathered for
their shmuess with a kollel student from the
yeshiva. An important feature of these talks was the openness
and frankness in which they were held. Any student felt free
to express his opinion, and Danny decided to air his views at
the very beginning of the talk.
"At our last meeting we discussed a passage at the beginning
of Mesillas Yeshorim which stated that man was created
to derive pleasure in Hashem. It was explained to us that
even in this world, a person can experience an otherworldly
bliss.
"I wanted to ask about this idea from a personal point of
view. When my father was an officer in the army, he once took
me hunting in the Galil. I must admit that it was a very
pleasurable outing. The ambush, weapons, the suspense and
finally, the actual thrill of the kill. It was real
excitement. I, myself, cannot think of anything that can
compare with going hunting. I read that the nobility in
Europe, a leisure class of wealth, indulged in hunting on a
regular basis; it was one of their main preoccupations and
pleasures. But I can't see this in the same category as what
the author of Mesillas Yeshorim describes as the
greatest bliss possible, something that one can savor in this
world."
"Let us deal with your question as it relates to your
personal experience. You say that nothing compares to the
thrill of the hunt. Who can analyze for us what causes this
sensation?"
Tzachi: "First of all, the accomplishment, the conquest. Here
is an animal that you could never catch with your bare hands,
but through your cunning and skill, you succeed. It is this
ultimate accomplishment, I think, which provides the thrill
and, to be sure, creates the whole atmosphere of suspense and
danger, of ambush, stalking the prey and finally shooting it
down that enhances it. What an exciting climax!"
Noam: "The noblemen in Europe used to go hunting on
horseback, with hunting dogs and bugles. It was a very
dramatic event. Upon their return from the hunt, they used to
hold a great feast featuring meat from the animals they had
caught, like rabbit or deer. They used to boast about their
hunting prowess, exaggerating their feats of bravery with
each telling. The memories of these hunting parties and the
feasts that followed would entertain them for many weeks
afterwards."
The Rov: "Right, and now that you've explained the factors
causing the pleasure in hunting, we have a common basis to
compare the pleasure of a Jew fulfilling mitzvos. In order to
create such a basis, let us use hunting terminology to
describe the life of a Jew living according to Mesillas
Yeshorim.
"First of all, you must regard any mitzva that you succeed in
fulfilling as a chase, a prey that you managed to capture. It
is your catch, your trophy, the object of your successful
trapping. What you've acquired will not be consumed in a
banquet that same day, leaving behind some misty memories
that recede with time. Instead, these mitzvos become your
personal property, an eternal acquisition. The benefit and
elevation which your personality and soul gain from this
`hunt,' this tracking down and snaring a mitzva, remain
engraved upon them forever more. In addition, this benefit is
not frozen and static but bears dividends and produces fruit
in kind without cease.
"Before venturing on a hunt, you must have some notion about
the nature of the beasts you are stalking: what they look
like, the places they frequent, where their habitat is, their
habits and how to catch them. In the direct language of
Mesillas Yeshorim, this is Torah study. One who is not
familiar with the mitzvos may pass alongside game that is
rare and precious, like lions and elephants, and not even be
aware that they are within arm's reach and that he can
capture them. Furthermore, in rabbit hunting there is no room
for speculation whether you shot it down or not, whereas in
Torah, without a thorough knowledge of Torah, a person can
deceive himself into thinking that he `snared' a big mitzva,
a real catch, when in truth, he only grasped some air or may
even have been trapped himself in some sort of sin.
"Let us study the Mesillas Yeshorim Jew who rises in
the morning to a routine day. What is his normal schedule?
Every single day of his life is strewn from beginning to end
with numerous opportunities to perform mitzvos of all kinds
and sorts. European noblemen went forth to hunt deer, foxes
and rabbits, and perhaps wild boar, while our Jew is on the
alert for the 248 different `animals,' that is, opportunities
through his 248 limbs. And each of them has seventy faces, if
not more. He needs finely tuned senses to be able to identify
them for they are camouflaged and do not bear a sign upon
them: `Mitzva!'
"Is our Jew tense? He is certainly on guard and alert since
he is responsible for the day's catch; he must make a showing
for himself by nightfall and the gap between minimum and
maximum looms wide indeed. And it all depends solely on him.
No hunting dogs, no faithful servant will execute the hunt in
his stead. The lying-in-wait, spying the prey, the struggle
to shoot it down, all these activities are executed within
the man's personal arena, his home turf. The animal called
`chesed' has a thousand faces and it can cross his
path a few dozen times in a single morning. The tension which
grips the person who is aware of this, and the feeling of
accomplishment of one who has succeeded in filling his game
bag with this type of booty is indescribable. All of his
talents, skill and know-how, his Torah knowledge and personal
store of information, are mobilized for trapping mitzvos and
the pleasure of success cannot be compared to any other
thrills. This is the pinnacle of supreme effort which
encompasses the entire person, and his reward in the
subsequent satisfaction resulting from that success is
commensurate to the effort invested in achieving it.
"You have doubtlessly noted the happiness radiating from the
faces of these `hunters' — mitzvah hunters. Torah
leaders always look content and if something mars their
happiness, it is the pain of one who discovers a vast
treasure which, even if he filled all of his pockets with it,
is forced to leave behind quantities of gold and diamonds.
The exultation of these mitzvah-hunters is described as "one
who finds plentiful spoils" and cannot possibly take it all.
The pleasure of the hunt and its achievements spreads itself
throughout the length of the day, day after day, until old
age.
"You are right, Danny: hunting does supply good reasons for
pleasure, but these are best found, in their full impact and
abundance, precisely by the Mesillas Yeshorim Jew and
no European aristocrat going forth hunting once a month to
shoot down several kilo of meat, while surrounded by servants
and hunting dogs, can achieve any measure of pleasure to
compare with it.
"But this does not begin to touch the trapping of snakes.
European nobility never went hunting for snakes and have no
idea of the thrills involved. This is a dangerous escapade
and any failure is fatal. While you are intent upon
concealing yourself from the prey, you, the hunter, are the
quarry of the snake which is seeking to attack you from
behind! This is really scary. Snakes are dangerous prey and
one cannot describe the pleasure felt by one who has had a
narrow escape from an encounter with one. Perhaps a person
who has safely crossed a live mine field can understand the
feeling.
"Success in this type of hunt is achieved by evasion and
withdrawal, actually, by standing stock still so that the
snake, with his particular type of vision, cannot see you so
long as you are motionless. There are 365 types of `snakes,'
each one and its particular power of hypnosis which it
activates upon anyone venturing into his vicinity. A
tremendous power of containment, suppression and self control
is required in order to subdue such a snake and grasp hold of
it by the tail.
"I see that you are surprised. Snake hunting will need a
separate talk, by itself, since it is not recognized at all
in European minds. The courage and sophistication of
containment, of inaction, are not a recognized form of
combat. Yet, this science is acquired by the Mesillas
Yeshorim Jew from the onset; he is trained in its tactics
from childhood on.
